unknown tiny anemone. aiptasia???

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RedLeggedHermit

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Jul 22, 2012
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225
i just bought some live rock that i noticed these tiny white anemones (im pretty sure they are anemone anyways i had thought they were little feather duster like creatures). due to their small size though i cant get a pic of them. but they have a tiny little stem. and a martini glass shaped head with hair like tentacles. they are about the size of a pin head right now. any ideas what they are? and what i should do?

p.s. i had heard if they were aiptasia that when probed with something they would retreat into the live rock instead of closing in on itself. i tried it and they dont retreat so... do you know if this method is real or no?
 
not possible. its covered with other stuff too. sponges and algae and stuff.

Ok in that case they sell a product called aptasita x (spelling) you could use or lemon juice also works. With the juice and the product it needs to be in a pipette and you need to squirt it on them with powerheads, filters off.
 
I got some live rock once, and it turned up with apstatia. Agent back and they offered 50% off there apstatia x, or 30% off peppermint shrimp. Got three peppermint shrimp, no more apstatia

A friend had a tank over ran with them. He got a few as well, and where all gone within two weeks.

Apstatia multiples like crazy, and can sting fish and coral. They are ugly, and get everywhere!
 
ya peppermint shrimp sound really nice. and a natural way of getting rid of them. i was thinking maybe ill get a few of those and let them take care of it. and if they miss one and two i could take out the rock and scrape them off. i also heard that scrapping them off wouldn't work cause its hard to not leave any of it that will multiply. so what if i scraped it off then burnt the area with a lighter or match? that would kill anything still clinging there i would think. and that way id not harm any of the other creatures or plants that call the rock home.
 
i touched them with a piece of wire with a loop on the end and they dont do anything. they dont seem to react at all actually.
 
RedLeggedHermit said:
will a peppermint shrimp eat featherdusters.

Not that I know of. I could see a coral banded shrimp attacking or harassing a father duster, but not peppermint shrimp.

As long as you dont have fish (or plan to get any) that eat shrimp, getting some peppermints would be a win all around. They eat apstatia, good for the cleanup crew, and fun to watch. Just make sure you get a few, one lonely guy may not do much. I missed how big your tank was, and how much rock you have.

I enjoy watching the life at night, how different everything acts. My snails un burry them selfs, crabs venture farther from rocks, brittle star makes laps In the tank, shrimp dance on the rocks.

Good luck!
 
i dont know if they are transparent. they are too small to tell. all i can say about them is they are white and have hair thin tentacles. oh and i just checked them under a red light with all the lights off. they are still open! wouldn't aiptasia/featherdusters close up at night?
 
The only time my feather dusters really close up, be it night or day, is when I or something approaches it, or when there's a change in lighting, flow, or movement. I see them open through the night and through the day. I don't have any of the large feather dusters, just the little cute hitch hikers.

If it doesn't really close up when poked or anything, chances are its not a feather duster. Mine retract with lighting quick speed at the slightest things
 
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